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What are you listening to and what do you play? Classic? Pop? Jazz or the edgy techno? And who is your favorite artist? If you pose these questions to music lovers in Shanghai, you will be absolutely astonished by their answers, not only there are plenty, but also there exist some names that you have probably never heard of.
In shanghai, concerts never end
Shanghai is a city embracing numerous artistic and creative possibilities, definitely plentiful enough to feast your ears! As the city gathers many groups of audience, no matter what genre you are fond of, there is always a place for you to find people who likes the same music as you and, with a little luck, you may find yourself a dance partner to groove with! In shanghai, concerts never end!
I am not a foreigner myself, but a stranger in Shanghai, yes. I just moved from the capital two months ago, and still trying to see some new faces and make some new friends in this charming city. In search of my own social circle, something came to my mind, it’s French House. A genre of electronic music that can always arouses my passion.
Electronic Music and French House
Of course, electronic music is no longer something new, since the 1970s and years later have already seen some great figures, such as The Human League in Britain and Yellow Magic Orchestra, a.k.a. YMO, in Japan. Nowadays, the electronic music has developed into a complex form of art where artists can freely express their imagination and emotions with different musical samples, most of which are synthetic sounds. French House is favored and loved for the delicate emotions it interprets and its unique musical elements (it seems that I need to do more theory reading). There are great number of artists who have already known popularity in a worldwide range, such as Daft Punk, FKJ and Dabeull.
Since true electronic music lovers have already had a good knowledge of its musical theories, I would love to save some words to share with you about my exciting experience, with my favorite music genre, French House.
When arrived in Shanghai, I booked a ticket of the concert of Darius and Dune, two great artists of Roche Musique (a successful French lable). This concert was to be held in Arkham.
A little introduction of Arkham:
Arkham is the first club in China that’s consistently booking and promoting high quality underground live music and DJ parties since the opening on March 1st, 2013. The focus is on the quality of the experience, the music and the community embracing this. And it seems that Arkham’s taste is edgy enough to invite great figures in various genres of music. In recent years, artists of famous brand Roche Musique, have become its frequent guests.
The first time I heard about this club, it was the news that Dabeull, another amazing French artist, had a concert there. At this time, I finally got a chance to be there and enjoy a show. There were many unforgettable moments that I can still recall. Dune and Darius are good at adding tender touch into this avant-garde form of music. I highly recommend you listen to Dune’s Take care of you, which is quite chilling and creates a dreamy atmosphere.
There is another club who gives special events of techno music. It is DADA. Artists there are not as famous as those invited by Arkham, but all with great talent and give impressive shows. It is interesting that most of its DJs plays as a hobby, but they are actually quite good. DADA holds at least 3 parties per week, and there are all FREE. So, pick a night, call some friends, and go to DADA for a boogie night!
Yes, I know you want to say more names of those edgy clubs in Shanghai. Please give me some patience, and kindly some advices, wait for me to explore some more! In the future, new articles on electronic music clubs will keep coming up!
Agencies who made all this happen
Finally, my passion brought about an amazing coincidence. I met the man who brought these great performance in China, allowing French House lovers to enjoy the feast.
He and his wife, two French House lovers, established an agency, quite small but already famous in the community, who works in collaboration with Foreign music labels, such as Roche Musique and Divine Art to realize shows in China. They have already held several concerts in Shanghai. They help the foreign labels with artists’ schedule, venues of concerts and so on. You can find many agencies like his in the city. Surprisingly, I was invited by him to be a one-day manager of ELSE of Divine Art. That experience was different from what I expected, but interesting and exciting.
After several explorations, I began to know more and more about how things work in underground music industry.
More art possibilities
Shanghai provides possibilities in almost every domain, and now I believe you can make your dream come true if you take great chances in this magical city. BIS will keep updating information of music circle, artists, shows, clubs and live houses, as well as local art event and agencies.
If you are big fan electronic music and have something interesting to share, contact us and we will help you to join the vigorous vibes!
